Back in the kitchen

I am taking a little day off from California dreamin’ but don’t worry. For those of you who have enjoyed reading my recent travel posts, there are a few more to go!

Being on vacation and eating every meal out is fantastic, but it does wear on me a little, and the first thing I like to do when I get home is to go shopping and cook. The cool weather and earlier darkness further pushes me into my warm, cozy kitchen with some music playing and maybe a glass of wine while we catch up and cook.

One meal that I love making when I have the time is risotto. When done right, it has the perfect creaminess paired with a little chewiness. And there are so many things you can do with it!

Last night’s dinner was created while I was thinking about the soup that I had at Farm in Napa. You’ll see photos of that a little later, but it was a velvety chilled corn soup that was so sweet and delicious I wanted to lick the bowl! Inspired, I took simple ingredients:

3/4 white onion

3 TSP olive oil

1 can creamed corn

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

2 cans chicken broth

freshly ground black pepper to taste

chopped, roasted red peppers for garnish

Roughly chop onions and sauté until tender in the olive oil. In the meantime, pour the chicken broth into a pot and start it simmering. Once the onion is to your liking, pour in risotto, completely stir so that it is coated in oil, and add some fresh ground pepper.

Not the best photo, but this would be risotto and onion,

Once the risotto is slightly browned, pour in one ladle of hot broth, and start stirring until all of the broth has been absorbed. Repeat as many times as necessary, stirring pretty much constantly. I find that this definitely makes the creamiest risotto. I used two full cans of broth, and the risotto just sucked it right up. While it was still slightly chewy, I added in the can of corn and fully mixed the corn with the risotto.

This was so easy to make. It does take a little bit of time, but its totally worth it!

Served with a lettuce, arugula, tomato, and artichoke salad with Bolthouse Farms yogurt blue cheese dressing.

We were given matching bowls for Christmas and I have yet to open them!

This was a totally satisfying and delicious meal with lots of leftovers! Stay tuned for more recipes, I feel a day of soup making coming on. Hooray for fall-ish weather

I have 3 pets! One black and white cat named Homer (courtesy of my dear boyfriend) and 2 miniature Schnauzers, Hereaux and Bernie.
I love risotto! My favorite iteration involves half a can of pumpkin and some roasted red pepper strips on top. I also like to make it with sweet peas or with chicken and asparagus. It’s also amazing made with lemon zest and wrapped (along with a little mozzarella) in steamed swiss chard leaves (then baked for 15 min. in a little broth).